WRU CHAMPIONSHIP
Newcastle Emlyn 7 Glamorgan Wanderers 13
A brilliant touchline conversion from Wanderers outside half Luke Fish in the dying moments of this dour clash snatched a one point win for his team and broke the hearts of the Ddol Wiber faithful.
The red and whites who had been hoping to put an end to their recent poor showing at home with an attacking performance saw these plans shelved before kick off as the heavens opened and it rained all afternoon turning the pitch into a sea of mud.
To add to their woe the red and whites lost the services of experienced outside half Barry Thomas at the eleventh hour and Richard Hope was give the ten duties for the first time in only his second start for the club.
Glamorgan Wanderers had come with a game plan which suited the conditions and were intent on using their heavy pack to carry the ball up the field and this was just what they tried to do from kick off but they suffered an early setback with loose head prop Josef Russell being replaced by Morgan Louch following a leg injury.
The visitors soon got their game going again and on one of their forays into the Emlyn half the Wanderers were awarded a penalty when referee Jason Morris spotted a player off side during a ruck. This was kicked by outside half Luke Fish to give them a three point lead. As the downpour continued the Wanderers’ heavy pack pressure brought them more and more into the game and allowed them to dominate the second quarter.
Near the end of the half Emlyn lock Dylan Davies was yellow carded for holding a Wanderers’ player back and Fish stepped forward successfully kicking the visitors into a 6-0 lead at the break.
The Red and Whites made changes in the scrum in an attempt to counter the visitor’s dominance with Emrys Davies coming on for Jack Parry with Ceiron Evans being replaced by scrummaging specialist Gethin Davies at tight head. These replacements made an immediate difference with Emlyn regaining supremacy in the set piece.
One of the first home attacks of the second half resulted in a scrummage on the visitors’ 22 metre line when a ball was lost forward at a lineout. The Red and Whites pushed the Wanderers back towards their try line and were awarded a penalty 5 metres out and opted for a scrum again. Emlyn again had the better of the set piece and when the following move through the hands petered out referee Morris brought them back for a second penalty. The Red and Whites opted for the scrum once more and when the Wanderers offended in the scrum again the referee ran under the posts to award a penalty try which was converted by full back Sean Leonard to put Emlyn were back in the match and leading at 7-6.
The persistent heavy rain caused the playing surface to continue to deteriorate which started to nullify the advantage the Red and Whites had gained in the scrum due to the lottery of finding some decent footing.
Emlyn were unable to play their usual running game due to the ball being the proverbial bar of soap and it being almost impossible to run with any pace through the now ankle deep mud. Their long relieving kicks played into the hands of the heavy Wanders pack providing them with possession to carry back and continued to press forward.
Emlyn brought on fresh legs with hooker Tom Curry replacing captain Alex Williams and Bleddyn Davies replacing Dylan Davies in the second row.
Wanderers continued to attack and were rewarded with a penalty which Fish kicked to the corner. The driving maul from the lineout was well defended by the red and whites but the visitors’ forwards retained the ball expertly and drove again and again towards the Emlyn try line taking play from one side of the pitch to the other.
The constant defending began to tire out the hosts pack and gaps began to appear allowing the ball to be passed to left wing Ioan Mortimer who was able to make a short dash down the touchline to score in the corner.
The try was converted brilliantly by Fish considering the angle and horrendous conditions and the Wanderers caught the ball from the restart held on to it skilfully for the few remaining minutes until referee Morris blew up to end the game.
Marc Lloyd and co will be hoping to put this game behind them and continue with their impressive run of away form to get their season back on track in this week’s local derby against Narberth. This though represents a very difficult challenge against a side who are currently riding high in third place in the WRU Championship.
